ABSTRACT
This chapter asserts that due to the splintered nature of public human resource management in the United States, civil service experimentation at lower levels of government, particularly the states, may be influencing personnel policy at the federal and local levels. The discussion explores reform in four states (Georgia, Florida, New York, and Louisiana) and two local governments (Jefferson County [Birmingham], Alabama; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina). The chapter concludes with implications for the design and reform of civil service systems. Grasping the nature of these reforms is even more important given the fact that states may adopt policies without any formal understanding of their long-term impact on the system. The analysis provides practitioners and scholars with an organizing point for understanding the nature of these reforms. Conclusions illustrate the diffusion of policy from the state level to the federal level with respect to civil service reform.
